The Cincinnati Bengals’ season will certainly end in disappointment, but that doesn’t mean the remaining games are without value.
In fact, playoff elimination may be the perfect opportunity to find easy fixes on the current roster.
Here are some candidates:
Mitchell Tinsley
Let Tee Higgins take the rest of the year off, because one more concussion could be career-threatening.
And then give Tinsley targets in more varied situations to see if he can be a bigger contributor. At the very least, it’ll be fun watching him do his thing.
Cedric Johnson
With Shemar Stewart still recovering from injury and Trey Hendrickson out, it’s time to see what Cincinnati has in every other pass rusher on the roster. And Johnson, just 23 years old, is exactly the kind of guy you want to give a chance.
Johnson always had the raw talent (see his preseason sack below). But, like Stewart and Myles Murphy, he badly needed a chance to develop when he entered the NFL. Maybe now he’ll finally get it.
Joe Giles-Harris
The Bengals have given up a ton of big plays, so it’s worth seeing what they have in their backup linebackers.
Giles-Harris showed good awareness in the limited snaps he’s seen.
Plus, he’s been solid on kickoff coverage.
Shaka Heyward
Like Giles-Harris, Heyward is more of a special teams player with limited defensive snaps. Given how poorly the Bengals’ linebackers have played, it’s worth seeing what Heyward can do, especially since he’s still fairly young at 25 years old and has been in the league for just three seasons.
Tycen Anderson and Daijahn Anthony
Really, just give more safeties a shot, because the team is almost certainly going to replace Geno Stone in the starting lineup next year, as he’s set to become a free agent. There’s also a decent chance Jordan Battle will also be replaced, though he is under contract for one more season. And you never know what a defensive back can do until you give him enough snaps and confidence to settle into his role.
Shemar Stewart
It goes without saying that the Bengals need to play their first-round pick extensive snaps down the stretch once he’s healthy. Stewart is on the verge of returning from his ankle injury, and he needs to end the year on a positive note after doing virtually nothing to this point.
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